20 Must-See Photos of Birthday Girl Meryl Streep Through the Years

Streep was ready for her close-up, one year after her screen debut in the TV film, The Deadliest Season.

Jack Mitchell/Getty

1979

The actress was spotted hailing a cab outside Joseph Papp’s Public Theater — the same year her critically acclaimed film, Kramer vs. Kramer, was released.

Jack Mitchell/Getty

1979

… and the buzz surrounding the film and its star even caught the attention of Queen Elizabeth II, who attended a royal screening of Kramer vs. Kramer in London.

Graham Turner/Getty

1979

Streep and her longtime love, husband Don Gummer, were picture-perfect at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the L.A. Music Center.

Ron Galella/WireImage

1980

Congrats were in order for Streep, who scooped up the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in Kramer vs. Kramer.

ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty

1981

Despite winning an Oscar, the star was not above riding the N.Y.C. subway like a pro.

Ted Thai/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty

1983

It wasn’t long before Streep won her second Oscar — this time a Best Actress trophy for her work in Sophie’s Choice.

Michael Montfort/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

1989

Oh, to have been a fly in this room! Streep joined Hollywood heavyweights Michael Douglas, Barbra Streisand and Jerry Hall as the foursome posed with Mick Jagger backstage at the Rolling Stones’ “Steel Wheels” tour.

Paul Natkin/Getty

1990

Streep, who portrayed a character inspired by Carrie Fisher in Postcards from the Edge, joined in for a huddle with the Star Wars alumna and her mother Debbie Reynolds at the film’s premiere.

Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage

2004

Winning big! The lauded actress posed with her Emmy following her and Angels in America costar Al Pacino’s win for outstanding miniseries.

Carlo Allegri/Getty

2006

For the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada, in which she played “dragon lady”/ fashion editor Miranda Priestly, Streep enlisted her look-alike daughters Mamie, Grace and Louisa to join her on the red carpet.

Bryan Bedder/Getty

2010

Helen Mirren joined Streep and Cher — who together once saved a woman from an attacker on the streets of New York — during the 38th AFI Life Achievement Awards honoring Mike Nichols.

Kevin Winter/Getty

2011

In December, the star was one of five recipients of the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors. The other honorees were Yo-Yo Ma, Neil Diamond, Sonny Rollins and Barbara Cook.

Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty

2012

Streep proudly held up her third Oscar, for her Best Actress performance in The Iron Lady, at the ceremony’s press room. She currently holds the record for having the most Academy Award nominations in the acting category.

Jason Merritt/Getty

2014

During his second term, President Barack Obama presented Streep with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian can receive.

Alex Wong/Getty

2016

Proving she’s a chameleon in every sense of the word, Streep dressed up as then-presidential-candidate Donald Trump for a surprise appearance at the Public Theater Gala in N.Y.C.

Paul Zimmerman/WireImage

2017

The Cecil B. DeMille Award recipient took the stage at the Golden Globes to take aim at Donald Trump in a fiery speech, two months after the former reality star was elected into office. “Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence,” she said. “The powerful — use definition to bully others, we all lose.”

Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty

2018

Director Steven Spielberg, Streep and costar Tom Hanks got their photos taken as they made their way down the red carpet at the London premiere of The Post.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

2018

All love! Longtime friends Robert De Niro and Streep quickly kissed during the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala, following the actor’s speech praising the star.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

2018

“Our marriage and our children and their wellbeing inform all the decisions we make,” Streep once said about life with husband Don Gummer.

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

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20

Advertisement

1 of 20Jack Mitchell/Getty

1978

Streep was ready for her close-up, one year after her screen debut in the TV film, The Deadliest Season.

Advertisement

2 of 20Jack Mitchell/Getty

1979

The actress was spotted hailing a cab outside Joseph Papp’s Public Theater — the same year her critically acclaimed film, Kramer vs. Kramer, was released.

3 of 20Graham Turner/Getty

1979

… and the buzz surrounding the film and its star even caught the attention of Queen Elizabeth II, who attended a royal screening of Kramer vs. Kramer in London.

Advertisement

4 of 20Ron Galella/WireImage

1979

Streep and her longtime love, husband Don Gummer, were picture-perfect at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the L.A. Music Center.

Advertisement

5 of 20ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty

1980

Congrats were in order for Streep, who scooped up the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in Kramer vs. Kramer.

Advertisement

6 of 20Ted Thai/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty

1981

Despite winning an Oscar, the star was not above riding the N.Y.C. subway like a pro.

Advertisement

7 of 20Michael Montfort/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

1983

It wasn’t long before Streep won her second Oscar — this time a Best Actress trophy for her work in Sophie’s Choice.

Advertisement

8 of 20Paul Natkin/Getty

1989

Oh, to have been a fly in this room! Streep joined Hollywood heavyweights Michael Douglas, Barbra Streisand and Jerry Hall as the foursome posed with Mick Jagger backstage at the Rolling Stones’ “Steel Wheels” tour.

Advertisement

9 of 20Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage

1990

Streep, who portrayed a character inspired by Carrie Fisher in Postcards from the Edge, joined in for a huddle with the Star Wars alumna and her mother Debbie Reynolds at the film’s premiere.

Advertisement

10 of 20Carlo Allegri/Getty

2004

Winning big! The lauded actress posed with her Emmy following her and Angels in America costar Al Pacino’s win for outstanding miniseries.

Advertisement

11 of 20Bryan Bedder/Getty

2006

For the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada, in which she played “dragon lady”/ fashion editor Miranda Priestly, Streep enlisted her look-alike daughters Mamie, Grace and Louisa to join her on the red carpet.

Advertisement

12 of 20Kevin Winter/Getty

2010

Helen Mirren joined Streep and Cher — who together once saved a woman from an attacker on the streets of New York — during the 38th AFI Life Achievement Awards honoring Mike Nichols.

Advertisement

13 of 20Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty

2011

In December, the star was one of five recipients of the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors. The other honorees were Yo-Yo Ma, Neil Diamond, Sonny Rollins and Barbara Cook.

Advertisement

14 of 20Jason Merritt/Getty

2012

Streep proudly held up her third Oscar, for her Best Actress performance in The Iron Lady, at the ceremony’s press room. She currently holds the record for having the most Academy Award nominations in the acting category.

Advertisement

15 of 20Alex Wong/Getty

2014

During his second term, President Barack Obama presented Streep with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian can receive.

Advertisement

16 of 20Paul Zimmerman/WireImage

2016

Proving she’s a chameleon in every sense of the word, Streep dressed up as then-presidential-candidate Donald Trump for a surprise appearance at the Public Theater Gala in N.Y.C.

Advertisement

17 of 20Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty

2017

The Cecil B. DeMille Award recipient took the stage at the Golden Globes to take aim at Donald Trump in a fiery speech, two months after the former reality star was elected into office. “Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence,” she said. “The powerful — use definition to bully others, we all lose.”

Advertisement

18 of 20Karwai Tang/WireImage

2018

Director Steven Spielberg, Streep and costar Tom Hanks got their photos taken as they made their way down the red carpet at the London premiere of The Post.

Advertisement

19 of 20Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

2018

All love! Longtime friends Robert De Niro and Streep quickly kissed during the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala, following the actor’s speech praising the star.

Advertisement

20 of 20Kevin Mazur/WireImage

2018

“Our marriage and our children and their wellbeing inform all the decisions we make,” Streep once said about life with husband Don Gummer.

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